There's something about having a gun where it makes you want to pull the damn trigger. It's kind of addictive. The gun changes your whole way of thinking when you are carrying it or holding it. You are focused on looking for something to shoot.

And let's face it, pistols are made for one thing - shooting other people. They are no damn good for hunting no matter what some folks may tell you. Rifles/shotguns are totally different than pistols. Pistols are easy to conceal, and are mostly made for shooting other human beings.

I've never had the hankering to kill another human being but I have shot many many animals. It's sort of fun especially when you are good at it.

There's something about having a gun where it makes you want to pull the damn trigger. It's kind of addictive. The gun changes your whole way of thinking when you are carrying it or holding it. You are focused on looking for something to shoot. <?i>

Check this out. This is a dash cam video of a Seattle police officer. A drunk homeless guy walks across the street. The officer jumps out of his car and shoots him on the spot (shooting off camera).

<<This was a trained police officer mind you. And this is why nutballs like Zimmerman shouldn't be wandering around with guns looking for trouble. You find it.>>

So what's the difference between nutballs like Zimmerman and YOU, with your itch to shoot something?

My brother and you probably have a lot in common in terms of your interest in firearms and hunting, but he's a highly disciplined and responsible person and I've never heard him describe the kind of itch to shoot something you describe.

My personal inclination for dealing with irresponsible people and firearms is to have a bias towards allowing people who have a history of being responsible have free access to firearms, and to also have a bias towards taking away that right when someone demonstrates a tendency towards being irresponsible.

That would include pretty much any kind of felony or misdemeanor conviction or plea bargain, a domestic violence restraining order, alcohol or drug use conviction or problem (such as medical marijuana card, drug treatment or other things like that.

And I'd take those gun rights away for extended periods of time --- ten years or so in a lot of cases.

In short, I'd like to see people with a CLEAN record of good behavior have access to firearms and to restrict possession of anyone demonstrating a low threshold of irresponsible behavior. Most people with erratic behavior wind up in minor kinds of trouble before they get in big trouble. I'd use that association as the threshold for removing a right to possess firearms.

I wonder what happened to the police officer in this instance? It was insane! They were handcuffing a dead man! He had been shot in the back four times? Did they really think he was still alive?

No, it's a little show police are trained to put on for the cameras and microphones. Hence the incessant and "Stepford Wives"-style use of words like "felt threatened" "waste band", "he was going for..." "he did not respond" and other buzz phrases. Just a jungle of puked up words to create a meme and reinforce other cops views of themselves.

I mean really. A guy who was not big like George Foreman, 50 yrs old, walking AWAY from the scumbag cop (not running), who happened to be holding an excessively small knife in a non threatening way (carving wood), gets shot multiple times in the back and murdered after the cop gives himself 4 whole seconds to comprehend the situation.

This sht ought to play right into the hands of the people who hate government. But oddly this is the kind of thing most of the small government crowd thinks is OK for the government to do

I liked the part where you had nine armed Seattle Police officers hiding behind the traffic signal control box like frightened Kindergarteners with the homeless guy face down in a pool of blood. Then someone gives the order to line up single file to form the "arrest team".

Initially believing the statement of the cop until more facts were known strikes me as reasonable.

Yeah...but...You might recall the video of cops stomping the crap out of a perp on Westlake. Except they were actually beating up the wrong guy. Or the cops who beat up the mentally disabled kid for jaywalking. The SPD has been borderline out of control for a few years. I think some skepticism is in order.

In short, I'd like to see people with a CLEAN record of good behavior have access to firearms and to restrict possession of anyone demonstrating a low threshold of irresponsible behavior. Most people with erratic behavior wind up in minor kinds of trouble before they get in big trouble. I'd use that association as the threshold for removing a right to possess firearms.

There's something about having a gun where it makes you want to pull the damn trigger. It's kind of addictive. The gun changes your whole way of thinking when you are carrying it or holding it. You are focused on looking for something to shoot.

It is not true for everybody, but look at the number of road signs with bullet holes out in rural areas. The temptation to shoot something is too much for some people. Dick Cheney shooting his hunting buddy is an example of this. The rule when you first pick up a gun is to never fire unless you can see the target and the background clearly. Cheney couldn't see the background but didn't have the discipline to pass up the shot. Also the police shooting video I posted earlier. The cop was pretty clearly intent on using his weapon from the moment he stepped out of his car.

I don't want to speculate too much about Zimmerman, but I suspect that he had already envisioned using the gun in some sort of self-defense scenario, and so it was an easy step for him to pull it out and use it when the confrontation got scary.

The rule for Zimmerman and everybody else should be that if you are situation where you need a weapon to feel safe, you should get out of the situation.

The rule for Zimmerman and everybody else should be that if you are situation where you need a weapon to feel safe, you should get out of the situation.

Amen!

Way back in 1955 Robert Heinlein wrote a novel called Tunnel In The Sky. It was about a survival test for high school kids. The boy's older sister advised him not to take a gun. The dialog went like this:

But if you carry a gun, it makes you feel cocky; you won't take proper cover. If you don't have one, then you'll know that you are the rabbit.